| Show aa 11 AC FT AN HE OH OLE ACKSON GREGORY M 9 GREGORY CRE GOllY s W THE STORY SO PAR ann lee and od cole col cody beneficiaries under two eu eat wills uli made mad by early dut bill cole arrived ved in a the to town wo of bald eagle by stage coach only to learn of 0 bill cal bolei 0 s death a few e w daya daiy diy ann acco accompanied m panted by aunt jenifer went out ont to the ranch hanch the following day and was greeted by ranee rance waldron posing as ai old bills nephew ew afterward d n ranee ne e made it evident a abey were m not 0 9 we welcome I 1 c m s at the ranch and while bile ann lee ws wi making it just as ai pl plain a in bhe e had no anten intention 1 on of leaving nou C cal a 1 D daree old early bills foreman came ame upon the scene icene 9 shortly they beard ddn loccone omeo elie ie arriving ann lee gasped aben the law it 1 was nai cole cody now continue with the story CHAPTER VIII if ann lee had not been such a precipitate pair hair trigger sort of 0 creature a lovely little package of all sorts of unmanageable impulses she must have marked in cole co ca dys startled expression that he was no whit less amazed to see her here than she was to see him but she W happened to b be e a girl who did her v major thinking when thinking seemed indicated alter after the act in tead of before said little miss ann lee of all it if you think for or one single minute mr cody that either my aunt or myself has anything whatever to say to you you are sadly andly mistaken come auntie lets go in the house its nicer in there good morning mr cody sold said A aunt jenifer smiling lovely morning aint it youre right he be told her enghu iii stigall y take this morning lust just as it is you beat it with a ten foot pole the suns shining notice and the sky is as blue as anything the way it ought to be the air now its au all shot tuu dill of sunshine and you can smell the pines and the green grass and you just get a whiff of wood smoke out of 0 f the chimneys dropping down lazy like because on a still morning like this 11 with no wind blowing Co coming mag aunt Jer jenifer alfer asked a cool distant seeming ann lee whether aunt jenifer exactly tipped mr cody a sly wink or whether perhaps she merely squinted an eye against chesun the sun looking his way is a question not much of a question perhaps yet there Is afa room for argument she said meekly to her niece without in the least looking meek coming my pet and followed along to the door which ann was holding 0 pen open just a minute therel cody called C after them me too im coming int will 1 I dont think you have any business here mr cody ann said crisply c you are not invited in and you are n not t coming in and anever I 1 never want to see you again do you understand der stand or must I 1 say it again can you get it through your head said a very rude william cole cody that you and 1 I far ar apart as the poles in everything else agree right up to the hilt on one thing that we never want to see each other any more than we y have to and lets hope that today wipes the slate clean just the same I 1 ll 11 am m coming ing in and I 1 am going to acom stay ta y tor a spell and like tun fun you are arel ann cried angrily and stepping swiftly backward she slammed the door in his bis lace face he set his bis hand to the latch just in time to hear her drop the oaken bar into place he swore gently under his breath scratched his bis head jerked his bat forward and strode purposefully along the corridor edging the patio hunting tor for another door he found it just in time to have it slammed good and hard bard he hastened his step and heard beard light steps running so he be too ran the the next door was already fastened te ned he wasted no time at all on it those doors at the hacienda estrada made long and long ago of good honest oak two inches thick asked for a battering ram when hospitality was not at home but ri I 1 spun pun on his bis heel and dashed tor for the OF j kitchen end of the house little ann lee hearing him ran too as swift and agile as anyone of the three little pigs who were not wishful tor for a call from the wolf but the long legged cody was ahead of her by several sate safe yards he burst into the kitchen and halted there briefly triumphant while he could bear the staccato tapping of her racing feet they looked at each other across he room too cody shoved his bis hat bat back 1 set his bands on his bis hips lifted his coin at her and save gave her a look as good as a slap flap she came to a dead halt you get out she cried in an anger that made her beautiful tor for any man not likewise angry to gaze am upon some other time said cody 4 J fl very brittle with her behind ann lee aunt jenifer appeared she laughing she even exactly smiling yet a men some degrees less than blind could have told that she was having the time of her life ann lee dote close to her wits end the recent visit of the amiable mr calhoun roundtree remembered in a flash bash the gilt gift he had bad made her there on the kitchen table in the middle of the room between here and the detestable mr cody was ails colt 45 what more could any beleaguered beleaguer ed girl ask she fairly leaped upon it she snatched the weapon up and her eyes very bright along its barrel looked at cole cody disquietingly get she said again 1 I mean it you get out or ill kill youl better look out mister said aunt jesifers Jeni fers gentle voice our little vixen can shoot like a sharpshooter and ashes just in the mood etter better do the way she says and come back some other time cody began to laugh and took a forward step meaning to force the gun down to take it away from her then to have a sensible word with the very obviously sensible miss jenifer edwards ann lee desperate now shrilled another word or two of defiance I 1 tell you it in the quiet kitchen the explosion as s the gun went oil was as good as a cannon shot down at the corrals cal roundtree heard it quite as he had said he would A queer rigid look stamped itself on cole codys clodys face he stood his ground a minute staring incredulously he opened his ups lips to speak then closed them again without a word after all what was there to say the matter required a modicum of thought just to show youl you the girl told him mocking him with voice and eyes and her whole attitude next time ill kill youl he thought that over too there wont be any next time he be managed at last his eyes fascinated her they seemed to catch all the light there was in the room to focus it and draw it down to a one fine point to drive it back at her in jap AI I 1 Q f I 1 get out she said again 1 I liean nean it you get out or ill kill you yon a long poison tipped altogether venomous lance you see its like this then when she began to feel entirely mistress of the situation thinking that he meant to draw back and go his bis way he leaped forward taking half the room in one bound and slapped her gun down just as it roared tor for the second time his grasp wrapped about her wrist tensing unmercifully twisting her arm so that she screamed out in pain and the gun dropped to the floor he let her go stooped and caught the weapon up and hurled it tar far out through the open door behind him then he set both his hard hands on her shoulders jerking her toward him shaking her back and forth so that her hair tumbled down and whipped across her reddening cheeks you little tiger cupl he called her there was a convenient chair he dropped down into it and pulled her down across his bis knees he yanked up her flounces and lifted his hand highl she kicked wildly her legs threshing like some fantastic sort of windmill as on fire with this indignity she bit and scratched and screamed at him his hand band lifted high came down with a smack which made even a paralyzed aunt jenifer shudder that hand of his rose and tell fell to such effect that in a couple of minutes little miss ann lee received all al the thorough spank ings she had bad missed and needed these many years it was upon such an arresting scene that cal roundtree coming at a dead rural run burst gun in hand cole cody hand lifted gazed at him frowningly little liking the interruption lust just now when things were quite at their best to make matters even less to his taste there was another man looking in over cal Round reea trees shoulder young cody brought his hand down for the final smack hey youl roared cal what in the promptly cole cody gave over what wha t was occupying him and stood up letting ann lee slide off his knees and sprawl on the floor boor he stepped toward the newcomers why darn dam youl cal roundtree Bound tree stormed at a him again cole cody erritt emulated a springing cat and his bis fist came up in a long swing taking cal roundtree neatly and forcefully orce fully upon the point of odthe the chin and such effect of the blow that cal was lifted from his feet and flung backward landing in the yard from which he had just come flat on his back and still a stormy cole cody stormed along giving next his full attention asking no questions to cals companion ranee rance waldron ranee rance too went for his gun and small good it did him tor for in his case as in cals codys clodys hand seemed to be quicker than the eye at any rate the same fist looking now to ann lee like a rock bound to the end of a war club accomplished for ranee rance waldron what it had already done for cal roundtree with hut but a slight variation ria tion the bronze knuckles landed with a sound compounded of thudding and squishing effects upon rances nose and blood spouted and R ranee ance tottered tattered backward tripped over cals earth earthbound bound body and went down ignominiously but codys clodys gun was in nia his hand hand its blunt ugly nose turned cals way better drop it teller said cole cody sounding listless and not greatly concerned he sat down as though making himself thorough thoroughly at home might blister your fingers look here you said cal roundtree his hand hanging down the muzzle of his gun brushing his boot top seems as though he stopped short biting his bis words oft air clean he saw that the man lounging in the kitchen chair had turned white under his bis heavy tan and he saw something else he saw a uny tiny red pool on the floor boor close to one of the chair legs and noticed the spaced drops falling down into it cal said im pu putting eting my gun away stranger albright allright all right and bolstered it with cody watching him narrowly then he stepped up close to cody and stood looking down at him hurt bad he asked no said cody cal stooped down and took his gun away from him ann lee her eyes enormous hot spots pots of red on her burning cheeks was on her feet again and staring at the man who had just used her so and she too at last saw the whiteness through his bronze and the slowly dripping blood into the tiny glistening pool 1 I shot him and I 1 am bladl she exulted aunt jenifer came to cal round trees side bending over the man in the chair children be allowed to play with shoo shooting ling irons said aunt jenifer mildly always getting gettin g hurt if you boys mr roundtree will get mr bill cole cody to a bed and it if bring me some boiled water and a clean sheet or pillow case well try to mend him up I 1 dont think mr who demanded cal roundtree you say he Is he calls himself cody william ca cole e cody and nd roundtree ran his fingers through hi his s hair then along the rim of an aching jaw he frowned down at young cody you cole cody he demanded cole cody a trifle dizzy and sickish demanded might I 1 ask if its any business of yours im not asking your pedigree am I 1 suppose you leave me alone youre a nice kid like a hornet cal snorted but I 1 got to know unless youre ashamed of yourself and I 1 reckon you ought to be on general principles you tell me whether youre william cole cody or botill not cody regarded him specula speculatively t ively not a bad sort it struck him this nosy individual in further be was in no mood for a lot of empty jabber nor had he be any reason to deny himself so he said curtly me im cole cody william cole cody just cody tor for short now what want to do anything about it cal roundtree stood rubbing his bruised jaw yes I 1 do he said having duly meditated two things I 1 want to get your shirt off see how bad youre hurt and mend you up again one thing the other is I 1 want to make you welcome to the king cole ranch old early bill told me to wa watch out tor for you to treat you like home folks two things maybe later on we can make it three when youre all well again id like powerful well to take you out behind the barn and beat you clean to death he stuck his hand out shake cody he said old early bill says so youre welcome like the old spanish used to say the place is yours cody looked up at him and a slow smile twitched at his lips and warmed his bis eyes and his hand went out to find and clasp cal Round trees and ann lee stared at them with all her might As indeed did ranee rance waldron waldrom so cal got young cody as tar far along as a chair in the living room the same old chair in which early bill had bad sat eat just before he be lunged up to die standing upland yanked up his shirt tall and sought his wound TO BE CONTINUED |
